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Sunday, June 28, 2009

MY TRIP TO BURLINGTON, VERMONT

I am a huge fan of Burlington, Vermont. It is 2 hours away from me, by car and it is THE perfect city. It is small enough to be quaint and inviting - it sits by beautiful Lake Champlain and is very, very picturesque. It also has tons and tons of culture and fun stuff! The Church Street Marketplace is loaded with cute little shops (very few are chain stores) and there are lots of little sidestreets with more quaint stores. I have been going here for years and have discovered some great "best kept secrets".

Because I don't like to drive, I have found that I have discovered all kinds of cool and different ways of getting to my destinations and it has made me creative. Amtrak has a daily train that leaves from Montreal and ends in New York city and this is a loonngggg trip, believe me. However, along this route, there is a nice little area called Port Kent - which happens to be a little blot on the US map, but it also happens to be the location where the ferry that crosses from NY state directly into Burlington, VT is. Now, this is seasonal, of course, as Lake Champlain freezes over in this area during the winter (although there are other ferries that go from NY state to VT all year long). Anyway, this one is open from June to October and its the best kept secret! Very, very few people know about this, but I have been using this method to get to VT for years. Here are some pictures of the ferry and of Port Kent:

This is the entire Port Kent station. It consists of a roof and a bench! no sides! This is actually a huge improvement! When I first started getting off here about 10 years ago, it was a slab of ciment about 5 feet X 5 feet and that was it. However, in the early 2000's, NY state had tons of rains which triggered a landslide and this part of the rail tracks were actually torn away in the flood and they rebuilt the whole thing. But, you can easily see why this is a seasonal stop!

There is a small road from the train stop to the ferry - its pretty easy to walk down - but as I was walking down, the ferry was just about to leave and when they saw me - they stopped the ferry so that I could get on! otherwise I would have had to wait another 1.5 hours for the next one! I love small town mentality

This is a picture taken ON the ferry.

A ferry on beautiful Lake Champlain.

As you can see, the ferry is a huge part of the reason I take this lonnnggg detour to get to Burlington. All total it takes me 3 times longer to do it this way than to drive. But its so peaceful and fun that I like to do this at least once a year.

Of course, when I get to Burlington, I immediately head out to the Anchorage Inn which is a little motel type place that is basic, clean and pretty cheap - but best of all - it is literally 10 feet away from the VT Barnes and Noble!!!

This Barnes and Noble is very different. Although it is huge and sells new books, there is a whole section of "used" books (they call it the Sale Annex) and you can find all kinds of great deals on used books here. This includes Review Copies (this is the a picture of the Review Copy section) and .98 cent paperbacks (see picture), as well as new releases that were bought new and sold back to B&N. In other words, I can buy a book used for 50%of the price that they sell the book upstairs new!

I have also discovered the coolest little tea room (yeah, the one we go to in Montreal is pretty great, but this one is different - its very, very zen and they have over 50 different teas (with the history of each tea) on their menu. I LLLOOOVEE this place and I usually always sit at the same spot (if I can).

I have also discovered this great coffee shop called Muddy Waters. Inside is old log beams with crooked tables and the best fruit smoothies in the world!

Going to Burlington is fun! I wish I could live there - its a perfect little city!!! Its even nice during winter - I wish I could find such a cool and perfect little town in Canada!!!

I find that as I grow older (yeah, I am not THAT old, but I AM older) I am looking to get away from all the noise and cramped feeling that the big city offers. I think Montreal has lots and lots of charm and offers a little bit of everything, but I have to say that I am dying for a change - towards something more calm and serene - if only I could find it.

How beautiful! I love posts like these where I can see different little towns and stuff.And I noticed you try to get the same spot to sit at every time.I also do that and I have no idea why.I have my own spot in each restaurant I go to and will not go in if it's taken.Usually it has to be against the wall and in a spot where I can see everyone who comes in.I NEVER sit in the middle of a restaurant/coffee shop.Also I mostly end up reading so I like to be "private"(lol)

What great pictures! I love visiting coffee shops!It just so happens... My hubby and I are also going to VT 4th of July weekend! We will be a little south east of there in a small town called Washington.